The annual Geminid meteor showed will light up the skies above Britain this
weekend

Stargazers could see 100 shooting stars an hour blazing across the night sky tomorrow as the annual Geminid meteor shower puts on a spectacular multi-coloured show.

Astronomers say weather conditions are close to perfect for the yearly display which peaks on Sunday.

However the best time to see the meteors will be at around 2am on Saturday when the "radiant" - the point in the sky from which the meteors appear to originate - is almost overhead, next to the constellation Gemini.

But meteors should be visible throughout the night from around 10pm.

At their height, the Geminids could produce between 50 and 100 shooting stars every minute. They might be glowing in multiple colours and include occasional rapid bursts of two or three.

"It should be a good display, weather permitting - we might not be far off perfect conditions in the UK,” said Robin Scagell, vice-president of the Society for Popular Astronomy.

"The constellation is very high in the sky and most of the Moon will have gone away. An average of one comet a minute would be a good rate, and that's possible. You might also get little bursts of activity with two or three together."

The official Geminid "maximum" is at 11am on Sunday but daylight will prevent them from being seen at that time.

Meteor showers occur when the Earth passes through a band of cometary dust. The tiny particles, some no bigger than a grain of sand, burn up brightly as they enter the atmosphere.

The dust is produced by a three-mile-wide object called 3200 Phaeton, a ‘rock comet’ discovered in 1983.

Traditionally asteroids are made of rock and comets mostly of ice.

"It's not as clear-cut as it used to be," said Mr Scagell. "A lot of asteroids are quite icy. There are asteroids that look a bit like comets and comets that look a bit like asteroids."

The Geminid meteor shower itself was first noted in the 1860s. Over time, it has become more intense, with up to 20 comets per hour reported in the 1920s, rising to 50 in the 1930s, 60 in the 1940s and 80 in the 1970s.

Travelling at some 22 miles per second, the meteors burn up about 24 miles above the Earth.

Another unusual feature of the Geminids is that they can shine in different colours. Mostly glowing white, they may also appear yellow, blue, green or red.

If clear skies prevail, astronomers advise heading for the dark countryside far from the bright city lights to see the most shooting stars.

Britain has Dark Sky Reserves in the Brecon Beacons and Exmoor as well as Dark Sky Parks in Northumberland and Galloway, in Scotland, where there is little light from urban areas to ruin the night sky.

Chris Lintott, Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Oxford, said: “A truly dark sky is one of the wonders of the world,

“We’re fortunate in the UK to have places where people can go to experience the night sky in all its splendour.

“The Geminid meteors always put on a good show, too, and provide a perfect excuse for getting out under the winter sky.”